Notes and Essays -- John Brown

In “Rasputin,” the biographer Antony Beevor delves into the mysterious life of the last czarina’s mystic advised. Despite — or because of — the fact that he left behind almost no writings, Grigori Rasputin remains one of the most enigmatic figures of modern history.  Credit... Laski Diffusion/Getty Images By Sophie Pinkham  Sophie Pinkham is the author of “The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires.” April 15, 2026/ [review of:] RASPUTIN: The Downfall of the Romanovs, by Antony Beevor   More than a century after his murder, Grigori Rasputin remains an object of fascination: the lascivious “mad monk,” disheveled and clairvoyant, beloved by Russia’s last monarchs. With his matted hair and straggly beard, in photos Rasputin resembles a Halloween Jesus. He is a mystery but also a joke. Is it possible that this bizarre character changed the course of Russian and even European history? Is there more to be said?  Early in “Rasputin,” Antony Beevor — ...

A rendering released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts of plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington. Credit... U.S. Commission of Fine Arts By  Luke Broadwater April 10, 2026 Updated  2:49 p.m. ET, The New York Times  

Below Ukraine-related item from: " How Ben Sasse Is Living Now That He Is Dying: Th e former senator wants to heal the America he’s leaving behind." Hosted by  Ross Douthat Produced by  Victoria Chamberlin   [excerpt ] Mr. Douthat is a columnist and the host of the “Interesting Times” podcast From Mr. Douthat re S asse/  Ukraine : After the   2022 Russian invasion of  Ukraine , Sasse spoke in favor of expanding American military assistance to   Ukraine , saying, "If [Ukraine] can shoot it, we should ship it." Sasse image from Sasse, who served on the  Senate Select Committee on Intelligence , has criticized what he considered unnecessary roadblocks in supplying actionable intelligence to the  Armed Forces of Ukraine , saying, "There are a bunch of technicalities about intelligence in general versus targeting information in particular. And we should be giving the Ukrainians all the intelligence we can possibly get them as fast as possible. It'...

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/10/world/iran-war-trump-israel-lebanon April 10, 2026, 3:27 a.m. ET 57 minutes ago Francesca Regalado and Constant Méheut President Volodymyr Zelensky also said in his social media posts on Friday that Ukraine would receive assistance in various ways in exchange for providing defense expertise to Middle Eastern countries. These include crude oil and diesel supplies, interceptor missiles and financial arrangements, he said, without elaborating. April 10, 2026, 3:26 a.m. ET 58 minutes ago Francesca Regalado and Constant Méheut Ukrainian military experts shot down Iranian drones over several countries in the Middle East during the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on social media on Friday. Ukraine sent military advisors, including drone warfare experts, to Persian Gulf countries to help improve their air defenses.  This was the first public acknowledgement from Ukraine that its personnel were actively involved in shooting down dron...

The cease-fire would be in effect this weekend, but each side accused the other of violating a similar pause announced last year. The besieged city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, in January. Credit... Tyler Hicks/The New York Times   By  Valerie Hopkins  and  Constant Méheut The New York Times , Published April 9, 2026 Updated April 10, 2026,  1:31 a.m. ET President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, have both called for a brief cease-fire in the war to coincide with the Orthodox Easter holiday. The measure could bring a rare pause in the fighting even as peace talks remain stalled. Th e cease-fire should begin on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Moscow, and last until the end of the following day, according to the Kremlin  announcement  on late Thursday night. The Kremlin said it assumed that “the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation.” Mr. Zelensky responded in a  post on social ...